Halloween is fast-approaching, and I can tell because Target already has all of their decorations on sale. The speed at which stores sell holiday goods is a little tough to keep up with. I heard a commercial last week for the sale of tickets to the annual Radio City Christmas Show. Too. Soon. But since they are already selling costumes and the like, we'll give you the goods now so you can be ready whenever you do pick out your costume.

If you have ever seen Mean Girls (and if you haven't, put it at the very top of your list), you remember the scene where Cady goes to the halloween party dressed in that hideous costume, not having realized that she should have worn something that made her look stunning (like the three Plastics did, at left). See, in America, and probably elsewhere, halloween costumes are less about having a fantastic costume than looking terrific in something you wouldn't ordinarily wear. For example, a lot of women use the holiday as an excuse to wear the skankiest outfit possible and not get in trouble. We at Las F are not completely averse to this (wink, wink). The key, as always, is class and sass.

One of my favorite things about halloween is that I get to wear things that I generally wouldn't wear out in public but I can't help but be curious. For example, I've never been able to successfully pull off the tie-on-a-woman trend, so halloween is a great time to try it, perhaps as a private school student. You might also use it as an opportunity to wear that glitter that you'd never wear in public, or perhaps try a personality you've never tried before. This year, I'll be attending festivities as an evil fairy, which pretty much entails a sexy dress and black wings, with some well-placed glitter. You could also go the other route and do something that fits who you are. When I was in grammar school, one of my teacher's was pregnant, and came dressed as a gumball machine. How cute is that idea? But whatever you do, if you want to play it safe, it's a good idea to wear a costume that looks good if you take the more costumey pieces off. For example, that evil fairy easily converts to plain-old sexy me if I take the wings off. This is insurance in case you get to the party and find out it was not a costume party, as Elle Woods did in Legally Blonde. Then you're just a snazzy dresser. If you're quite sure it's a costume party, however, and you want to go all out, by all means do so. I particularly love the geisha costume, available at Target.com. There are no limits on halloween.

If the costume thing really isn't for you, that's okay, too. Just don't wear a shirt that says, "This is my costume." It isn't. And it just screams tacky. Old Navy has a nice selection of tees that have cute halloween phrases or pictures that look great with a pair of jeans and don't require a lot of effort to be in the spirit. And don't just put on a stupid hat or feather boa and think that passes for a costume. It doesn't. The worst, however, is when you have a truly great idea for a costume and nowhere to go with it. That's just an unfulfilled dream. A simple solution is to volunteer to take a younger relative trick-or-treating, or wear your costume to take your child out. It's better than sitting at home the whole night, alone, in your costume. In addition, I am a big advocate of dressing your children up in adorable outfits. My niece was a strawberry one year. Precious! Embarass your kids now so you won't feel the urge later.